Samajwadi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh, Ramji Lal Suman, called Rana Sanga a traitor in Parliament. In response, Karni Sena workers in Agra staged a protest and vandalised his residence, leading to clashes with the police. Suman has refused to apologise for his statement, asserting that it is a part of history and cannot be denied. Amidst this, a video has gone viral on social media (here, here, here, and here), showing a group of people assaulting a man while some policemen watch. The video is being shared with claims that Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) members were protesting in honour of Rana Sanga, during which SP leader Mahendra Yadav was beaten up. Let’s verify the claim made in the post through this article.
Claim: The video shows Vishwa Hindu Parishad members protesting in honour of Rana Sanga, and beating SP leader Mahendra Yadav.
Fact: The video dates back to 01 February 2021 and is unrelated to the recent Rana Sanga controversy involving Ramji Lal Suman. According to these reports, Karni Sena accused the Samajwadi Party’s backward class state secretary, Mahendra Chauhan, of using abusive language against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, leading to an alleged assault under the leadership of Karni Sena district president Devendra Pratap Singh. However, Mahendra Chauhan stated that the attack followed his objection to a viral video showing Karni Sena members beating a poster of Cabinet Minister Dara Singh Chauhan with shoes. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE
In the viral video, a voiceover can be heard stating that the incident took place in Mau, Uttar Pradesh. It claims that Karni Sena and Vishwa Hindu Parishad members beat up the Samajwadi Party’s backward class state secretary, Mahendra Yadav, for making casteist remarks.
Using relevant keywords, we found multiple reports (here, here, and here) from February 2021 covering this incident. According to these reports, Karni Sena had accused the Samajwadi Party’s backward class state secretary, Mahendra Chauhan, of using abusive language against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. As a result, he was allegedly beaten up on 01 February 2021 under the leadership of Karni Sena district president Devendra Pratap Singh. However, Mahendra Chauhan claimed that members of Karni Sena had made a video viral in which they were seen beating a poster of Cabinet Minister Dara Singh Chauhan with shoes. He was objecting to this act. The reports also stated that Mahendra Chauhan, who was seriously injured, was admitted to the district hospital for treatment. He was later referred to Varanasi for better medical care, and the police arrested Devendra Pratap Singh in connection with the incident.
We also found an X post by the Samajwadi Party dated 01 February 2021, featuring a video of the same incident from a different camera angle. The post stated, “The assault on SP leader Mahendra Chauhan in the collectorate premises by the ruling party goons, in the presence of police in Mau, is a result of the jungle raj prevailing in the state. Highly condemnable!” It further demanded that the administration take strict action against the culprits based on the video footage.
To sum up, a February 2021 video of Karni Sena assaulting SP leader Mahendra Chauhan is falsely linked to the recent Rana Sanga controversy.
